Basic tips for commanding the Adrestia and engaging in naval combat in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

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Seafaring is one of the primary gameplay elements in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Early in the game you will acquire a ship called the Adrestia, which you will use to sail throughout the Greek isles. Players will need to know how to command their ship and engage in naval combat in order to survive the pirate-infested waters. In this guide, we’ll explain what you need to know to properly captain the Adrestia and command her crew in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Players are granted access to their very own ship shortly after meeting Barnabas. There’s a brief tutorial to help you get used to commanding the ship and its crew, but we’ll go over the basics in case you need a refresher on how seafaring works in the game.

Sailing and Docking

There are several aspects to controlling and sailing the Adrestia in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Start by heading to the top deck to take control of the ship. Once you begin sailing, you can choose to either have the rowers maintain a steady pace so that you can thoroughly explore the open waters, or you can activate Travel Speed to boost your rate of travel and reach your destination quickly.

There is a dedicated message board near the center of the Adrestia that lists various ship-related bounties and missions that can be completed while out at sea. These objectives usually lead to a hefty reward, so remember to check your ship’s message board regularly to accept bounties and embark on new missions with your crew. You can also loot treasure straight from the water while on your ship, so keep an eye out for loot caches while on your seafaring adventure.

The Adrestia can be docked at any major harbor or port. Get close to the dock and press the prompt to have your ship dock automatically. The ship can also be called to any dock that it isn’t already docked at by interacting with the glowing ship symbol found at major ports.

Your ship also acts as a sort of mobile fast travel point, so if you’d rather warp straight to your ship from land while it’s out on the water, you can do so by opening the map and selecting your ship for fast travel.

Hiring Lieutenants

While exploring the islands, you can acquire new ship lieutenants by recruiting hostile NPCs. This involves knocking out enemy soldiers and choosing the Recruit prompt to invite them to join your crew. Lieutenants can be hired from your list of recruits in the Ship tab of the main menu. Additional lieutenant slots can be unlocked by upgrading the ship’s hull.

Naval Combat

There are several types of vessels you’ll encounter while sailing across the Greek isles in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Merchant vessels don’t pose a threat, so attacking them will cause your bounty meter to go up. Keep this in mind if you have a mercenary after you, as this can lure them to your location, even out on the open waters.

Pirate ships, on the other hand, are always hostile and will attack you as soon as they spot you. Since naval combat is inevitable, you’ll need to know your ship’s offensive and defensive capabilities before setting sail.

Ramming & Attacking

The Adrestia has two primary offensive maneuvers available when engaged in combat with an enemy ship. You can either launch a long-range attack on an enemy ship using javelins or archers, or you can ram into the side of the enemy ship to deal a massive blow to their hull.

Ramming involves aligning your ship perpendicular to the side of the opposing ship’s hull and increasing your rowing speed to ram them with full force. This requires proper positioning and acceleration, so go for this tactic only if the ship distances and angles are in your favor.

Firing projectiles is the more reliable of the two tactics. The left controller trigger allows you to aim at your target, while the right controller trigger will launch projectiles at the opposing ship. Fire javelins and arrows can be launched using the right shoulder button as well.

Brace for Impact

There are a couple ways to mitigate the damage done to your ship while engaged in naval combat in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. One method is to brace for impact, which is done by holding the left shoulder button on a controller or the Q key on PC. This causes the crew to hunker down and raise their shields to protect themselves from an incoming enemy barrage. Keep an eye on the enemy and brace as soon as you see them preparing to launch projectiles your way.

If the enemy ship is trying to ram you instead, you’ll need to maneuver your ship to dodge the incoming blow. Dodging can be done by braking hard and turning the ship to quickly pivot out of harms way. Though it may take some practice, knowing how to dodge incoming ramming attacks will ultimately help you turn the tables on your enemies at sea.

Boarding and Cleaving

Once you have depleted the health of an enemy ship, an anchor icon will appear above it, signaling that it can be boarded. You can board an enemy ship by pulling up beside the vessel and hold down the boarding prompt.

When you jump aboard an enemy ship with your fellow lieutenants, be prepared to fight off any remaining enemy crewmembers on your way to snag the ship’s treasure chest. We recommend Sparta-kicking enemies off the edge and into the water, as this is a quick and easy way to rid the ship of hostiles without taking much damage. Successful boarding will restore part of your ship’s health.

Alternatively, you can also choose to cleave the enemy ship, which basically involves ramming it so hard that it splits in half. You'll need to quickly ram into the side of the vessel to cleave and sink the enemy ship. This will also restore some of your ship's health.

Ship Upgrades & Cosmetics

In the Ship tab within the main menu, you can view the Adrestia’s different upgradable features. Ship upgrades are broken down into three categories:

Each ship upgrade costs a certain amount of money and resources, which are listed at the bottom of each upgrade. Ship upgrades also require you to collect Ancient Tablets, which are found in ruins throughout the islands or sold from certain blacksmiths. Ship upgrades are a bit pricey, so you may have to play through the game a bit before you’re able to afford any upgrades for your ship.

Those are the basics of how to captain the Adrestia ship and engage in naval combat in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. For more gameplay tips and tutorials, head over to our Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Guide.

About the author

Larryn is a content creator on YouTube and a full-time writer who has written guides and editorial features for various gaming websites. She can often be found at small gatherings preaching the gospel of The Witcher 3.